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10 Tools You Need to Build Your Real Estate Business

Written by Posted On Saturday, 08 July 2017 11:43

Many real estate agents look towards web tools as a sort of saving grace for their business, believing that finding just the right app or extension will immediately increase leads and improve conversion rates. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case; there isn’t one magic tool that will cause a real estate business to grow.

However, there are many guides, platforms, apps, and other tools that – despite not being magical – can greatly help you build your real estate business and bring in leads to achieve your short- and long-term goals. Here are a few:

 

1. Keyword Research and SEO

 

With 86% of home buyers considering real estate company websites as the most useful source of information when buying a home, it’s important that your website is at the top of search engine lists. To ensure that potential buyers find your site, you must take search engine optimization (SEO) seriously.

The Google Adwords Keyword Planner helps users find new and related keywords to use in their SEO strategies, helping you choose keywords that will make you appear near the top of the page when someone searches for real estate agents in your area.

 

2. Communication

 

To streamline your business and reduce mistakes that can cost you clients, you’ll need to keep all lines of communication open and organized. Employees waste up to 40 minutes a day trying to decipher unclear instructions, which can have a significant impact on your productivity.

Platforms like Slack are a great way to conduct meetings, chat individually, and group people and conversations to keep everything structured and avoid communication mishaps.

 

3. Social Media

 

An active social media presence is a must for any budding real estate business. 75% of small businesses say that internet marketing is the main way they attract customers, so avoiding this can lead to the downfall of even the most promising companies.

This handy guide helps real estate agents figure out the best social media sites to use and how to use them, all to help you build your marketing strategy.

 

4. Scheduling

 

As any seasoned agent can attest, scheduling is hugely important in real estate. 58% of agents spend most of their work hours at the office, but all of them split their time in multiple locations. From managing multiple clients and properties to setting up tours and meetings, having a well-organized schedule is vital to success.

OmniFocus is a great task management app that allows you to see every element of your work at once, from meetings to emails and projects. It takes care of your scheduling and to-do lists so that you can focus on making sales.

 

5. Video Editing

 

73% of homeowners are more likely to work with a realtor who provides videos than one who doesn’t. However, video editing tools like iMovie and Adobe Premiere can be difficult to learn and cost prohibitive.

This is where Quik comes in: a free app, it allows you to quickly and easily upload photos and clips, add some background music and transitions, and create a montage in minutes.

 

6. Productivity

 

With the typical agent managing 12 transactions a year and so many factors involved in running a successful real estate business, it can be easy to get mixed up and distracted. Luckily, there are several productivity apps on the market to help you stay on track.

For instance, TopTracker helps you create projects, track your productivity, and identify areas for improvement. Even better, it’s completely free.

 

7. Social Proofing

 

Social proofing is the idea that potential customers are more likely to engage with your business if they perceive that others enjoy using your services. This perception can come from personal interactions with other clients, as well as from online reviews. In fact, 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.

Tools like RealSatisfied can be used to collect satisfaction data and leverage it as social proof when it comes to your real estate business.

 

8. Analytics

 

Whether your marketing strategies are web-based, social-media based, or app-based, it’s imperative to track the analytics to figure out which strategies are working and which are not. Marketers are expected to spend over 11% of their budget on analytics, further supporting its importance.

For example, if you’re using a Facebook and Twitter account to promote your web page, you can use Google Analytics to see your traffic and where it came from. With this knowledge, you can then react accordingly to further boost your marketing efforts. You can also use tools like Bit.ly to run analytics reports for you.

 

9. Lead Management

 

Generating leads and keeping track of previously identified leads are important in any real estate business, which makes the fact that 70% of online real estate leads report that they aren’t followed up with pretty dismal.

Tools like Sprout Social provide you with the ability to not only find leads through your various social media accounts, but also keep track of how often your leads are mentioning your business on social media. With this information you’ll be able to find potential clients, as well as follow up with or manage leads you’ve already identified.

 

10. Design Help

 

37% of marketers indicate that visual marketing was the most important form of content for their business. As such, it’s important to have marketing materials that are both informative and aesthetically pleasing.

Programs such as Adobe’s Creative Cloud and Adobe Spark, which is free, are great resources that will give you a head start in marketing design. From flyer design to your next Facebook ad, these tools will help your visual strategy beat out the competition.

The real estate market is more competitive than ever. Luckily, with the help of some tools, you can stay ahead of the competition. What’s your favorite tool for managing your real estate business?

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David Wither

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